Ohio State football safety Caleb Downs on Jim Knowles’ departure: ‘It was sad to hear’

Caleb Downs found out Jim Knowles was leaving Ohio State to become the defensive coordinator at Penn State last weekend when he received a text message.

“He told me before,” Downs said. “He hit me up about it. I respect him for being honest with us.”

During an autograph signing organized by one of the Buckeyes’ NIL collectives, he expressed no hard feelings about Knowles’ departure, which became official earlier Monday.

Ohio State Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs (2) warms up prior to the College Football Playoff National Championship against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 22, 2025.

“I sent him a text message back, just telling him that I appreciate him,” Downs said. “I wish him the best.”

Downs was an integral part of the defensive success guided by Knowles that culminated with a win over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff final last week, securing Ohio State’s first national championship in a decade.

As a unanimous All-American in his first season after transferring from Alabama, he finished with 82 tackles, a safety who showed his range moving to the line of scrimmage in run support and dropping in pass coverage.

The Buckeyes led the Football Bowl Subdivision in both scoring defense (12.9 points per game) and total defense (254.6 yards per game) in 2024.

“It was sad to hear,” Downs said, “and he was a really good DC. He taught us a lot. He taught me a lot about football and how to call games. I learned a lot from him. So I appreciate him for that.”

Since Downs enrolled at Alabama as a freshman in 2023, he has experienced no shortage of coaching movement, most notably with the retirement of legendary coach Nick Saban last January.

But he has seen defensive coordinators change, too. Pete Golding left the Crimson Tide to run Mississippi’s defense…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ohio-state-football-safety-caleb-015051305.html

Author : The Columbus Dispatch

Publish date : 2025-01-28 01:50:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.